The biographical consequences of protest and activism: a systematic review and a new typology

Most research on activist participation has aimed to explain motives to engage in protest and collective action or becoming an activist. The outcomes, for the individual, have been neglected. Therefore, we set out to systematically document and organize the psychological and behavioural changes associated with activism into a typology of change. The review contains 57 papers describing changes. Psychological changes identified in the literature can be classified into 19 main forms: marital status, children, relationship ties, work-life/career, extended involvement, consumer behaviour, identity, empowerment, radicalization/politicization, legitimacy, sustained commitment, self-esteem, general well-being, ‘traits’, self-confidence, religion, organizing, knowledge and home skills. Our analysis highlights the lack of analysis of the relation between type of protest and type of change, and lack of research into the processes behind the various psychological changes. What is needed now is more precise investigation of the relationship between types of protests, social and psychological processes, and psychological outcomes. Further, more longitudinal studies are required to explore the relationship

Consumption of freshwater fish: A variable but significant risk factor for PFOS exposure

PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS are the PFAS substances that currently contribute most to human exposure, and in 2020 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presented a draft opinion on a tolerable intake of 8 ng/kg/week for the sum of these four substances (equaling 0.42 mu g/kg if expressed as an annual dose). Diet is usually the dominating exposure pathway, and in particular the intake of PFOS has been shown to be strongly related to the consumption of fish and seafood. Those who eat freshwater fish may be especially at risk since freshwater and its biota typically display higher PFOS concentrations than marine systems. In this study, we estimated the range in PFOS intake among average Swedish "normal" and "high" consumers of freshwater fish. By average we mean persons of average weight who eat average-sized portions. The "normal consumers" were assumed to eat freshwater fish 3 times per year, and the "high consumers" once a week. Under these assumptions, the yearly tolerable intake for "normal" and "high" consumers is reached when the PFOS concentrations in fish equals 59 and 3.4 mu g per kg fish meat. For this study, PFOS concentrations in the muscle tissue of edible-sized perch, pike and pikeperch were retrieved from three different Swedish datasets, covering both rural and urban regions and a total of 78 different inland waters. Mean PFOS concentrations in fish from these sites varied from 0.3 to 750 mu g/kg. From the available data, the annual min-max dietary PFOS intake for male "normal consumers" was found to be in the range 0.0021-5.4 mu g/kg/yr for the evaluated scenarios, with median values of 0.02-0.16 mu g/kg/yr. For male "high consumers", the total intake range was estimated to be 0.04-93 mu g/kg/yr, with median values being 0.27-1.6 mu g/kg/yr. For women, the exposure estimates were slightly lower, about 79% of the exposure in men. Despite highly variable PFOS concentrations in fish from different sites, we conclude that the three most commonly consumed freshwater species in Sweden constitute an important source for the total annual intake even for people who eat this kind of fish only a few times per year. The analyses of PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS showed values which were all below detection limit, and their contribution to the total PFAS intake via freshwater fish consumption is negligible in comparison to PFOS

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy

Domain Wall Renormalization Group Study of XY Model with Quenched Random Phase Shifts

The XY model with quenched random disorder is studied by a zero temperature domain wall renormalization group method in 2D and 3D. Instead of the usual phase representation we use the charge (vortex) representation to compute the domain wall, or defect, energy. For the gauge glass corresponding to the maximum disorder we reconfirm earlier predictions that there is no ordered phase in 2D but an ordered phase can exist in 3D at low temperature. However, our simulations yield spin stiffness exponents $\theta_{s} \approx -0.36$ in 2D and $\theta_{s} \approx +0.31$ in 3D, which are considerably larger than previous estimates and strongly suggest that the lower critical dimension is less than three. For the $\pm J$ XY spin glass in 3D, we obtain a spin stiffness exponent $\theta_{s} \approx +0.10$ which supports the existence of spin glass order at finite temperature in contrast with previous estimates which obtain $\theta_{s}< 0$. Our method also allows us to study renormalization group flows of both the coupling constant and the disorder strength with length scale $L$. Our results are consistent with recent analytic and numerical studies suggesting the absence of a re-entrant transition in 2D at low temperature. Some possible consequences and connections with real vortex systems are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, revtex

Tweeting about sexism motivates further activism: A social identity perspective

Women, more so than men, are using social media activism to respond to sexism. However, when they do, they are also faced with gendered criticisms (\u27hashtag feminism\u27) that may instead serve to silence them. Based in social identity theory, this research examined how women\u27s social media activism, in response to sexism, may be a first step toward further activism. Two studies used a simulated Twitter paradigm to expose women to sexism and randomly assigned them to either tweet in response, or to a no-tweet control condition. Both studies found support for a serial mediation model such that tweeting after sexism strengthened social identity, which in turn increased collective action intentions, and in turn, behavioural collective actions. Study 2 further showed that validation from others increases the indirect effect of tweeting on behavioural collective action through collective action intentions, but group efficacy did not moderate any indirect effects. It was concluded that when social media activism in response to sexism promotes an enactment of women’s social identity, thereby mobilizing them to further action

Biokinetics and dosimetry of commonly used radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostic nuclear medicine – a review

Purpose The impact on patients’ health of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine diagnostics has not until now been evaluated systematically in a European context. Therefore, as part of the EU-funded Project PEDDOSE. NET (www.peddose.net), we review and summarize the current knowledge on biokinetics and dosimetry of commonly used diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. Methods A detailed literature search on published biokinetic and dosimetric data was performed mostly via PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). In principle the criteria for inclusion of data followed the EANM Dosimetry Committee guidance document on good clinical reporting. Results Data on dosimetry and biokinetics can be difficult to find, are scattered in various journals and, especially in paediatric nuclear medicine, are very scarce. The data collection and calculation methods vary with respect to the time-points, bladder voiding, dose assessment after the last data point and the way the effective dose was calculated. In many studies the number of subjects included for obtaining biokinetic and dosimetry data was fewer than ten, and some of the biokinetic data were acquired more than 20 years ago. Conclusion It would be of interest to generate new data on biokinetics and dosimetry in diagnostic nuclear medicine using state-of-the-art equipment and more uniform dosimetry protocols. For easier public access to dosimetry data for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, a database containing these data should be created and maintained

COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset on psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak

This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey – an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures like cancellation of public functions and stay at home orders implemented in many countries. The dataset contains demographic background variables as well as measures of Asian Disease Problem, perceived stress (PSS-10), availability of social provisions (SPS-10), trust in various authorities, trust in governmental measures to contain the virus (OECD trust), personality traits (BFF-15), information behaviours, agreement with the level of government intervention, and compliance with preventive measures, along with a rich pool of exploratory variables and written experiences. A global consortium from 39 countries and regions worked together to build and translate a survey with variables of shared interests, and recruited participants in 47 languages and dialects. Raw plus cleaned data and dynamic visualizations are available

COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset on psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak

This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey - an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures like cancellation of public functions and stay at home orders implemented in many countries. The dataset contains demographic background variables as well as measures of Asian Disease Problem, perceived stress (PSS-10), availability of social provisions (SPS-10), trust in various authorities, trust in governmental measures to contain the virus (OECD trust), personality traits (BFF-15), information behaviours, agreement with the level of government intervention, and compliance with preventive measures, along with a rich pool of exploratory variables and written experiences. A global consortium from 39 countries and regions worked together to build and translate a survey with variables of shared interests, and recruited participants in 47 languages and dialects. Raw plus cleaned data and dynamic visualizations are available.Measurement(s) psychological measurement center dot anxiety-related behavior trait center dot Stress center dot response to center dot Isolation center dot loneliness measurement center dot Emotional Distress Technology Type(s) Survey Factor Type(s) geographic location center dot language center dot age of participant center dot responses to the Coronavirus pandemic Sample Characteristic - Organism Homo sapiens Sample Characteristic - Location global Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data:Peer reviewe